Rainforest Action Network Commends Disney for Global Rainforest Commitment

Disney today announced a significant new paper policy that applies to the company's extensive operations and those of its licensees, and means they will be eliminating paper connected to the destruction of endangered forests and animals.

The policy, the culmination of two years of conversations between Disney executives and the Rainforest Action Network (RAN), establishes Disney's leadership among household brands including Staples, Mattel, Scholastic, Tiffany and Kroger that have moved to source paper more responsibly to help slow the rate at which the world's most precious forests are being pulped.

"Rainforests are more valuable left standing than being pulped for paper," said Rebecca Tarbotton, theExecutive Director of Rainforest Action Network, which worked with Disney on the policy. "Disney is adding its voice to the growing chorus of companies demonstrating that there's no need to sacrifice endangered forests in Indonesia or elsewhere for the paper we use every day."

To date, nine top U.S. publishers have worked with RAN to announce rainforest commitments, including Scholastic, Hachette, Pearson/Penguin, Candlewick Press, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Macmillan, Random House, Simon & Schuster, and now Disney.

Disney is the world's biggest publisher of children's books and magazines. The new paper policy will be applied to the Company's entire global operations and those of its supply chain. The commitment includes Disney's media networks, theme parks, resorts, cruise ships, and all its product packaging, copy paper and book publishing as well as the 3,700[1] licensees that use Disney characters. It will also influence the operations of 25,000 factories in more than 100 countries that produce Disney products, including 10,000 in China.

"The paper policy is an example of how Disney conducts business in an environmentally and socially responsible way, and demonstrates the Company's commitment to creating a lasting, positive impact on ecosystems and communities worldwide," said Dr. Beth Stevens, senior vice president, Disney Corporate Citizenship, Environment and Conservation.